Modern aircraft are provided with numerous movable components, called control surfaces, which are used generally to control the speed, attitude, and direction of the aircraft. Control surfaces include ailerons, rudders, elevators, leading-edge slats, trailing edge flaps and the like. Certain control surfaces are rotatable along an axis of rotation, thus adjusting their angle relative to the aircraft. Other control surfaces move slidably along tracks or other mechanisms, which may be used to adjust both the angle and the position of the control surface relative to the aircraft.
Movement of control surfaces is typically effected by actuators or other types of motors, and in some cases, multiple actuators are used to move control surfaces. If the actuators are not properly synchronized, movement of the control surfaces can be irregular. Additionally, if some of the actuators malfunction, fail, or become disconnected from the control surface to which they are associated, this can also lead to improper movement of the control surfaces. Some of these failure modes lead to surface asymmetry, skew, or other improper movement of the affected control surfaces, which can cause control issues for the aircraft and potentially pose a safety risk.
As such, there is a need for techniques for detecting improper movement of control surfaces.